Ethan didn't respond. His jaw tightened. His gaze drifted back to the stars. And Zara didn't press him.
She wasn't here for his comfort or for validation. She just… needed someone to know.
After a few minutes of silence, she nodded to herself and stepped back from the railing.
"I'll head inside."
Ethan didn't stop her. He remained where he was, eyes still searching the constellations.
Zara closed the door behind her, and Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair.
He didn't know what to do anymore.
Too many people were depending on him. Too many lives were tangled together. And Selene—
He looked up at the stars again, as if they might have answers he hadn't yet found.
"Wake up soon. I'm kind of lost here."
He whispered.
Selene didn't feel like she was sleeping.
She felt trapped.
Energy swirled inside her like a storm—thick, suffocating, relentless. It wrapped around her lungs, her heart, her mind. It pulsed with a will of its own, pressing, whispering, begging.
